Smith’s wish was granted, and he now meets Gracie (5-1 MMA, 3-1 SF) on the Showtime Extreme-broadcast preliminary card of Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” event, which takes place at Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena. The night’s main card airs on Showtime.

Smith said his adventure started immediately after his August win over Lumumba Sayers, when “Lionheart” took advantage of a chance encounter with Strikeforce matchmaker Sean Shelby to proactively book his next appearance.

“It was at the hotel right after I beat Lumumba Sayers,” Smith recalled. “I asked for Roger Gracie as soon as that fight was over. We were back at the hotel right after I showered, and we were down in the lobby hanging out, and I asked Sean Shelby, ‘How about Roger Gracie?’ He kind of looked at me kind of crazy like, ‘Is this kid serious? Hold on a second; he’s not joking. He really wants that fight.’

“My corner and training partner Jake Ellenberger was standing there, and he looked at Jake and went, ‘Is he ready for that?’ Jake said, ‘Hell yeah, he’s ready for that.'”

And thus a matchup was made.

Gracie, of course, is a highly-touted member of MMA’s first family and is a 10-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion. In short, his submission skills are nothing less than elite level. But to Smith – who is currently on a 12-2 run after opening his career just 5-6 – Gracie’s single-faceted attack plan presents a wealth of opportunities.

“Out of the three middleweight fights on that card, I think I have the easiest one,” Smith said. “That’s not saying I think he’s an easy fight. By no means is it an easy fight, But Roger, he’s pretty much predictable. Am I worried that Roger is going to come out and box me up and down? Not at all. I just don’t see that happening, and Roger knows that. He knows what he’s good at and what he’s going to excel at. And I know that, and I respect that, but I’m not afraid of it.

“I think there’s a fine line between respect and fear, and I think that a lot of people that he’s fought have been completely and utterly afraid of his ground game. If we were in a jiu-jitsu match, then Roger would spank my ass. But we’re not. I know that sounds cliched, but this is a fight. There’s a lot more to it than just jiu-jitsu.”

Of course, as Gracie’s fours submission wins against seasoned competition in Trevor Prangley, Kevin Randleman, Yuki Kondo and Ron Waterman can attest, that grappling game can be highly effective. Smith acknowledges there could be some tense moments, but he feels his well-rounded game is ready for the challenge.

“There are five disciplines in MMA,” Smith said. “He’s better than me at one of them. He’s not going to shoot doubles and singles. He’s not going to have the leverage over me that he has on everybody else for his clinch takedowns because we’re both 6-foot-4. He’s not going to be able to leverage me and drag me down to the ground. And I don’t see him out-kickboxing me. I’m a better athlete and faster. Yeah, if he gets a hold of me and gets me down, I’m going to be in a whole lot of s—, but I’m confident I can be safe when I need to be.

“It’s a super tough fight. It’s not that I think it’s going to be an easy fight, at all. I just think that I have more tools to win the fight, more ways to win it.”

Should he prove victorious, much could be at stake. While there are no guarantees, a win in Strikeforce’s final would seem to earn Smith a ticket to the UFC. It would be an impressive accomplishment for a man who three years ago was mired in a four-fight losing streak.

The 24-year-old Nebraskan knows what’s on the line. After all, he asked to be here, so now it’s time to deliver.

“It’s a huge opportunity,” Smith said. “It’s my chance to get catapulted into those conversations of the people that everyone’s talking about.

“When people talk about the who’s who of Strikeforce, it’s Gilbert Melendez, Pat Healy, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, Roger Gracie. There’s maybe 10 names that everybody is like, ‘OK, those dudes are tough. Those dudes are going over, for sure.’ This is my shot to be one of those dudes.”